Silas was born sometime around the 31st of May, 2011. In early July I went home to visit my parents in rural Alabama. While I was there, someone abandoned a puppy in their yard.
It was an oddity. Not the abandonment, sadly, but the dog. Nobody in that area abandons single male puppies. It’s an area where most of the dogs roam free and eat cheap, so usually little boys are kept. We still don’t know what the story is. Was he the only one who survived? A rejected “defective” puppy?
He was five weeks old, and we thought he might be deaf. I still wonder if that isn’t why he got kicked out–the assumption that surely an all-white puppy couldn’t hear, and thus wouldn’t be a good hunting dog. (Silas is a pretty classic, if such a thing exists, “feist” type dog, a small terrier-ish hunting dog used in much of the South for squirrel hunting.)
I didn’t know anything about dogs, but I knew that there were no resources locally for saving a puppy. So I took him home. Adventures ensued.
My Imperfect Dog 
omg this is so interesting! We rescued a pup from rural alabama (k911 in Camp Hill) via a more local rescue group in victoria bc, canada, abt a year or so ago, and she has ears/face /temperment very similar to how you describe Silas’s!! What are these ‘feist’ dogs like? Ours was found by a cop with two littermates, but no mom, in a drainage ditch in a rural area ..we are not sure if she was born to a ‘feral’ mom or not? Needed tons of socialization and still does…like Silas, is very fearful of things falling over, wierd stuff, (to her), and unfortunately most people she does not know…gets better if she meets them like 25 times maybe?
I love your blog and will keep reading. Just wanted to ask you abt these alabama rural dogs…ours has ears like yours, weighs abt 40lbs, brindle coat, cute as pie! We got her at age 4 mos ; she was found at approx. 2mos of age and then fostered for a month or so.
Cheri on Vancouver Island, BC
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Thanks!
As for Alabama…you really see every kind of dog there. Most rural people these days have the classic big dogs–retrievers and such–but you see almost everything from Danes to Yorkies. And, of course, very few people neuter/spay, so you also see almost every combination.
The feist, specifically, is an unofficial breed, something like a rat terrier. Their temperament is theoretically a notch mellower than the true terriers, and they hunt more above ground. 40 pounds would be a bit big, but there isn’t exactly a breed standard.
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Thanks Jessica! Nice to hear back. I would love any further pics of Silas and will try and get you some of our Noomi…would have to be by email since we are not too too tech savy in this house! But omg are they funny babes! Enjoying your blog made me want to write about Noomi. She is super smart as it sounds Silas is too, which presents many challenges….our other dog Lucy (rescue from Idaho) is a very laid back, large ‘treeing type’ hound cross, so the contrast is riotous at times.
Anyway, have a lovely Christmas and keep on writing!
Cheri
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Hello! Luna and I just nominated your blog for a Liebster Award! You can learn about how you can accept this blog award http://www.beaglesandbargains.com/liebster-award/ ! Congrats! We cannot wait to see your blog grow!
Hugs and wags, Jessica and Luna!
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